Don't fall for that Amish heater if you want to save money
Filed under: Budgets, Entrepreneurship, Home, Consumer Complaints
It's easy to get suckered into buying something from the Amish. They make great quilts, everything is made by hand, and their pies are to die for. No doubt they're great farmers and know their way around a workbench.
A small space heater costs about $30 -- considerably less, although it doesn't include the warm feel and look of what ads describe as the "miracle invention" of the Amish. Here's one of the commercials:
The commercials have inspired spoofs on YouTube, and have critics wondering if an Amish space heater is an oxymoron.
While a woman named Cindy wrote that she likes "the way the flame relaxes me," according to the Times, another woman, Darlene Swick, is quoted as disputing claims that the Roll-n-Glow heater could lower home energy costs."
My husband and I purchased two of these Heat Surge fireplaces and we have seen NO savings on our electric bill. We turned our thermostat down to 68 degrees for the month, and our electric bill went up," Swick said.
No wonder. Keeping an electric heater on for a few hours is expensive because electric heat costs up to two and a half times more than natural gas or heating oil. Consumer Reports says that space heaters can save you money if only used to heat one area and the heat is turned off in the rest of the house.
If you want to save money and still stay warm by supporting the Amish, then don't buy their heater. Go for a quilt.
Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job search at www.AaronCrowe.net
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 22)
2-13-2009 @ 9:40PM
Deb said...
Anyone who knows anything about the Amish would know these are not Amish made heaters. THEY RUN ON ELECTRICTY. Amish do not use ANYTHING electric.
Reply
2-14-2009 @ 11:21AM
Brad said...
Deb, you are wrong there. Most Amish are not allowed to have AC power wired into their house, but they are NOT forbidden from using electricity. Many carry cell phones, portable radios, and other battery-powered gadgets, and many also have electric generators in their barns in order to run workshop tools or agricultural equipment.
Now some of their churches may be very strict and allow a lot less use of electricity, but most are allowed quite a lot of electrical freedom as long as it is not wired directly into the home.
You are right that these heaters are generally not one of the items they could use themselves. But they aren't forbidden from making money. Indeed, they seem very capable of making money almost any way they can.
2-15-2009 @ 9:02PM
Me said...
You are right. The space heater is not Amish made. They never claimed it was. If you took the time to read, it says the wooden mantle is Amish. Hooked on Phonics can help you with that.
2-15-2009 @ 9:19PM
Annee said...
Absolutely. LOL Who writes these things? Anyone with a brain who can read knows that the only thing made by the Amish is the mantle. For those without a brain, the heater is available without the mantle.
2-16-2009 @ 3:13AM
Mike said...
You should check your facts on that, I would love to see how they build fancy, expensive motor coaches, like they do, without the aid of electricity..............
2-16-2009 @ 3:59AM
Analyze This said...
Plus.... the Amish do not allow their faces to be photographed. Therefore, the people in the print ads and TV commercials are non-Amish actors. MISLEADING!
The fact that the heaters are made in China makes this whole marketing campaign a fraud to begin with.
2-16-2009 @ 5:12PM
Brianna said...
Hi Deb, ask Brad for me how they charge their cell phones LOL. His reply does not allow me to reply.
I believe that what he says is true but it just sounds funny.
2-16-2009 @ 5:50PM
Andi said...
Anybody who knows anything about the Amish will know that those who truly follow their faith and the Amish way of life will not advertise their products they make. The ad is seriously probably a bunch of actors dressed up as Amishmen.
2-17-2009 @ 10:32PM
jules said...
The heaters are not being sold by the Amish, the mantle included with it is. Listen to the ad, it states that right in it.
2-18-2009 @ 7:15PM
Judy said...
Deb,
I am aware that the Amish do not use electricity. It is only the "cabinet" that they come in is made from Amish. The heating element is seperate.So they are pushing the fact the "cabinet" is hand made....
2-13-2009 @ 8:29PM
Oh please! said...
Know THEIR way around a workbench. Don't you people have editors?
Reply
2-13-2009 @ 10:03PM
Stephanie said...
LOL....if you check out the bottom of the article, you will see that he is an unemployed writer, I guess we know why now.
2-13-2009 @ 11:19PM
daquinc said...
LOLOL No surprise that he's an UNEMPLOYED journalist....
2-15-2009 @ 9:17PM
Geordi said...
What do you expect from a free service?
2-16-2009 @ 1:52AM
nj said...
“Their” is a possessive pronoun like “her” or “our”. They eat their hotdogs with sauerkraut or They know their way around a workbench.
2-16-2009 @ 1:57AM
bloono said...
Yes, THEIR, is the correct word. It's the possessive "they know their way around... etc" What word would YOU have used?
2-16-2009 @ 3:12PM
Dorothy said...
Okay, I must be stupid. What was wrong with the use of the word 'ther' in this sentence?
2-16-2009 @ 3:15PM
Dorothy said...
I guess I really AM stupid since I can't spell the word THEIR!
2-16-2009 @ 9:27PM
Danny said...
Have you ever taken a course in English grammar. Their is correct in that sentence. How is it not?
2-16-2009 @ 9:51PM
Christine said...
The article was edited to correct the usage of they're/their. When I first read it, it said, "they know they're way..."